Changed My Mind, Again. Had To Revisit A Recipe

    Last December I made gingerbread cookies.  When I made those cookies I did not enjoy the process of making them because I had to mix the dough by hand and it was difficult.  I also used a recipe that made a lot of cookies (Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond's recipe).  I swore I would never make gingerbread cookies again and I even went so far as to throw away my cookie cutter.  But I really enjoyed the taste of the cookies and after thinking about it, I knew I would be making more gingerbread cookies.

   So this year I made the decision to buy a stand mixer (it was on sale and I love it) to help with the mixing of the dough.  I did some research and found a smaller cookie recipe.  And I got a new gingerbread man cookie cutter.

    I found this recipe on youtube The Stay At Home Chef Gingerbread Cookie Recipe.  The description below the video has a link to the written recipe at their blog but the video is nice because she also gives baking tips.

    I made gingerbread cookies yesterday.  It was an easy recipe to make and the stand mixer worked great.  I was really happy with the cookie dough I made and it yielded 15 cookies.  I did not have any dough left over.  It was all used.  I made some men, some hearts, and two round cookies with leftover dough.  I can't wait to try them and let you know how tasty they are.  The unfrosted cookies are now in the freezer waiting for a special birthday in November.

   This recipe made just enough cookies for me, but it would be easy to double it.  The stand mixer made the process effortless.

   I didn't take any pictures of the cookies because they were so dull looking with no decorations on them.  Just brown cookies.  But I hope they will taste great.

More Knitted Headband/Ear Warmers

   I knitted two more headband/ear warmers.  These are so easy to make and it makes great T.V. knitting for me.  I even took this project out and about shopping with daughter because we had to get her flu shot and I wanted something to do while we waited.  I even knitted while we roamed around the store.  I got a bunch of rows done that day.  I have two more colors of yarn picked out for this project to make a couple of more.  I'm currently knitting this on a size 8 - 16" circular needle.  I wonder what it would be like to knit it on bigger needles with the yarn doubled?  I may have to try that idea.

Knitted Ear Warmer/Headband

       I made a simple ear warmer/headband using my favorite hat pattern.  I modified it a little, I used less stitches.  I started with 90 stitches instead of 100.  Knitted the 3 x 2 rib for about 5", then I bound off and whip stitched the two ends together to double up the knitted fabric and got this.   I'm going to make more in other colors.  This would be perfect to wear under a hat on a really cold day or by itself.

Using Scraps For A Quilted Appliance Cover

    I cut a bunch of 2.5" squares from stash fabrics and made an appliance cover for my new stand mixer that I gave myself for Christmas.  I also used leftover batting scraps.  I enjoyed using up fabric and batting that was just sitting around.  I made a long rectangle (18 rows by 9), quilted it and put two ties on each side.  I love the way this one turned out.

Scrappy Project

    I'm making a scrappy appliance cover for my stand mixer.   I dug through my scrap fabrics and cut up a lot of 2 1/2" squares.  I concentrated on neutrals, white, blue, green, yellow, gray and a little bit of dark brown.  This is the beginning of the my project.  I will be working on this for a while.